Hanging A’ Round

By Deirdre Carroll, Senior EditorWednesday, July 14, 2010 2:49 PMWHO: Rachel Zoe, Whitney Port and the Olsen Twins are just a few of the fashion heavyweights who have been spotted in round sunglasses lately. In fact, one of VM’s favorites, the iconic Iris Apfel, never leaves home without a pair of her signature oversized circle frames.

WHAT: Round sunglasses have become the standout sunwear trend for 2010. Typical of the trickle down phenomenon in fashion, trendsetting designers like Proenza Schouler, Dries Van Noten and Vera Wang put them on their runways in Spring of 2009 and celebrities started being photographed in them shortly thereafter. Now, we mere mortals have finally caught on and circular sunnies are being snapped up by all for Summer 2010.

WEAR: Vera Wang became an innovator of the style on her runway in Spring ’09 with the Avril frame, Kenmark has softened the roundness a bit for summer 2010 with the Chantal to make it a bit more wearable for those in the majority who are drawn to the trend. On the other side of the spectrum is the Kyoto sunglass from Erdem for Cutler and Gross which is a fashion innovators dream come true; not only are the lenses perfectly round but they’re paired with a substantial acetate construction, bold double bridge and a bright watercolor printed fabric laminated on to the front. Proenza Schouler wouldn’t want you to confuse round with soft—a dark, sinister purple with cable-inspired temples and a gunmetal logo plaque, the PS5028 from L’Amy is round with a bit of an edge. The Theo Hesperia Comma is a riff on the iconic aviator but instead of the usual teardrop shape this style turns the classic on its head with round lenses and an acid green acetate construction. Leave it to Chanel to indelibly stamp their distinct aesthetic all over the round sunwear trend; in the 4182 from Luxottica, acetate and metal are paired for a unique construction, while iconic Chanel elements like the use of monochromatic black with hints of classic tweed on the bottom curve of the frame front leave no question as to the style’s lofty sartorial origins.

WHY: Round frames are hardly new; their roots can be traced back to the invention of eyeglasses, but as more wearable shapes were developed they have continued to fall in and out of favor with the masses. This time the trend started firmly in the ranks of the fashion world, popping up on a few fringe members of the tastemaking community. Like most big fashion trends, this one may wane with the introduction of the next big thing but circular shades are the type of thing everyone should have at least one of in their eyewear arsenal. They will come in and out of fashion but forever a classic, they are style that will always be… hanging a’ round.

Download a PDF of this month’s Style.Pages to get the full 360° on circular sunnies. To view PDFs of past trends featured by VM, go to the Style.Pages category on
VisionMonday.com.